Vicki Fowler

Vicki Fowler
EastEnders character
Scarlett Alice Johnson as Vicki Fowler (2004)
Portrayed by	Emma Herry (1986–1988) Samantha Leigh Martin (1988–1995) Scarlett Alice Johnson (2003–2004)
Duration	1986–1995, 2003–2004
First appearance	Episode 133 27 May 1986 (1986-05-27)
Last appearance	Episode 2858/2859 25 December 2004 (2004-12-25)
Classification	Former; regular
Introduced by	Julia Smith and Tony Holland (1986) Louise Berridge (2003)
Samantha Leigh Martin as Vicki Fowler (1995)
In-universe information Occupation Work Family Watts/Fowler Father Den Watts Mother Michelle Fowler Stepfather Tim Andrews Stepmother Chrissie Watts Half-brothers Dennis Rickman Mark Fowler Grandfathers Arthur Fowler Dennis Watts Grandmothers Pauline Fowler Uncles Mark Fowler Martin Fowler Nephews Dennis Rickman First cousins Bex Fowler Hope Fowler Other relatives Lou Beale Pete Beale Ian Beale Kenny Beale Elizabeth Beale Lucy Beale Peter Beale

Vicki Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Emma Herry from the character's birth in 1986 to 1988, Samantha Leigh Martin from 1988 to 1995, and Scarlett Alice Johnson from 2003 to 2004. She is the daughter of Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) and Den Watts (Leslie Grantham). The character is born in the serial, conceived in a controversial storyline about teenage pregnancy. Exploiting a whodunnit angle, at the time of the first showing, viewers were not initially told who was the father, and press interest in the fledgling show escalated as journalists attempted to guess. The audience finally discovered his identity in October 1985 in episode 66. Written by series co-creator/script-editor Tony Holland and directed by co-creator/producer Julia Smith, it was considered a landmark episode in the show's history. Early suspects were Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford), but then four possible suspects are seen leaving the Square early in the episode: Tony Carpenter (Oscar James), Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih), Andy O'Brien (Ross Davidson), and Den Watts. As Michelle waits by their rendezvous point, a car pulls up and the fluffy white legs of the soap landlord's poodle Roly leap out of a car to give it all away: Den Watts is the father of Michelle's baby.^[1] After this storyline the programme started to appear in newspaper cartoons as it moved more and more into the public mainstream.^[2] Vicki's character was written out in October 1995, after Susan Tully, who played Vicki's mother Michelle, decided to leave the soap.

After an eight-year absence, she was reintroduced by Executive Producer Louise Berridge in January 2003 as a rebellious teenager. Her reintroduction was part of the soap's attempt to rebuild the Watts clan, a successful family headed by Den, which had featured prominently in the 1980s. Johnson quit the role in 2004. Her stint between 2003-2004 focused on her relationship with Spencer Moon (Christopher Parker), becoming pregnant with Spencer's child and subsequently having an abortion, a difficult relationship with her estranged father Den who she once believed had died, and a relationship with lecturer Tommy Grant (Robert Cavanah). The media was generally critical about the character upon her return, due to her American accent and its sudden disappearance. During the character's original stint, a storyline featuring Vicki being kidnapped was criticised due to its coincidental airing alongside the real-life abduction and murder of toddler James Bulger.